


a fresh poison each week

by flyingthesky



Series: Banned Together 2020 [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Blasphemy, Churches & Cathedrals, Depending on Your Interpretation, During Canon, Evangelical Christianity, Gen, It/Its Pronouns for Aziraphale (Good Omens), Possibly Pre-Slash, They/Them Pronouns for Crowley (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24387382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingthesky/pseuds/flyingthesky
Summary: “Do you like it?” Crowley throws their arms out, like they're trying to encompass the whole of the space. “It's my magnum opus: a church where nothing is holy.”
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Banned Together 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760965
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: Banned Banned Together Bingo 2020, Banned Together Bingo 2020





	a fresh poison each week

**Author's Note:**

> for [banned together](https://bannedtogetherbingo2020.tumblr.com/). what square, you ask? why **blasphemy** of course, for what could be more blasphemous than evangelical christianity?

There’s something... wrong. It’s been a few years or decades since Aziraphale had a reason to step into a church, but it's almost certain churches shouldn’t feel like this. Crossing the threshold into this church feels no different from being anywhere else and it can’t feel Her presence anywhere in the building. Some churches are so holy, in Aziraphale’s experience, that the streets surrounding them have the faint stamp of Her blessing and it expects a church this large to have a similar effect. Perhaps it’s the denomination, though. Catholics always were closer to achieving Her goals.

Not that the Catholics are Her favorite or the most holy of Her creations. Aziraphale isn’t high enough or important enough to know that sort of information, but it knows Her favorite is probably not the Catholics. They have the inherent advantage of rituals to keep holiness close by, is all. If Aziraphale had to pick a favorite, it would pick the Amish. They live their lives as well as they can, which it relates to deeply. It would like nothing more than to simply live the way it wishes without having to think or care about this whole nonsense about the war between heaven and hell.

Wandering through the church, Aziraphale notes that it’s utilitarian. Some of Her creations prefer this sort of minimalism, but it doesn’t remember such large houses or worship with such stark purpose. People are flitting about, more people than Aziraphale has ever seen in a church outside of services, but the chapel is easy enough to find. Normally, Aziraphale would find a chapel by feeling alone, but this time it merely follows the flow of traffic.

Even entering the chapel feels no more holy than the local Tesco, where Aziraphale sometimes buys biscuits. It frowns, but is about to settle into a pew when it spots Crowley. _That_ is not possible, because Crowley is a demon and demons can’t be on consecrated ground. For a moment, Aziraphale does nothing but stand still and try to make sense of what’s going on. Crowley must notice its presence, because they turn and look in Aziraphale’s direction. They smile, standing and sauntering over.

“Angel! Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hello, Crowley.” Aziraphale tilts its head to the side, considering. “I could say the same about you. You weren’t so cheerful the last time you were in a church.”

“Ah, but this isn’t a church.” Crowley’s expression is sharp and dangerous in the way that makes the space where Aziraphale’s heart would be hurt. “It’s a _mega_ church.”

Like many things Crowley says, they make this declaration as if Aziraphale is meant to understand it. It doesn’t, and years of knowing this about Crowley mean that it merely waits for Crowley to continue when their grand declaration doesn’t suffice as an explanation. As if on cue, after a moment Crowley continues speaking like they’re having an actual conversation with Aziraphale.

“These places are so full of people who proclaim to follow Her word and yet cannot keep holiness in their places of worship through the hate in their hearts. Do you like it?” Crowley throws their arms out, like they’re trying to encompass the whole of the space. “It’s my magnum opus: a church where nothing is holy.”

“Isn’t that quite direct? It doesn’t seem like your usual style.” Truthfully, Aziraphale is less curious because this isn’t Crowley’s usual style of sowing discontent and more because the idea of a church where nothing is holy is so fundamentally _wrong_ that Aziraphale can’t believe Crowley would create such a thing. “There must be easier things you could focus your energy on.”

“That’s the best part.” Crowley smiles, their teeth showing in a way that makes Aziraphale feel like its being hunted. “The humans did most of this themselves. All I told them to do was build a place large enough to hold their hatred.”

Aziraphale swallows nervously, uncomfortably aware that Crowley is on the opposite side of the war between Heaven and Hell for the first time in a long time. Her creations aren’t perfect—they can be petty and they can be cruel—but Aziraphale likes to believe that there is _good_ in what She has created. If Crowley is to be believed, however, this was not the direct work of demons like them. No, this is just Her creations behaving as they will.

Everything happens for a reason, but Aziraphale finds it hard to believe that this too is part of Her ineffable plan. She is mysterious as ever, though. If this, a church against everything that churches stand for, is Her will? Then Aziraphale supposes that is how it must be.

“They can be saved,” Aziraphale says, because it must believe that to believe in Her. “Everyone can.”

“Everyone?” Crowley raises an eyebrow. “Even those of us who have fallen?”

“Everyone,” Aziraphale repeats, voice firm. “Even those who have fallen.”


End file.
